Burlesque No Basket (AU)
by Fallen707
Summary: In an alternative universe where the world of basketball didn't consume their minds, a Burlesque club owned by Alex opens up in Japan. All the known bishies get hired by her discerning eye. Lead acts Himuro and Kise can both sing and dance, but so it seems can the rookie who just started there, Takao. The young hawk apparently is oblivious to the affect he has on others at he club


"Burlesque Show AU/div  
/I got the inspiration for this at random- sue me -w-;;

Mirrored on KnBFanfic Tumblr

There was a new dance lounge that opened up on Hollywood Ave, and the owner was a foreigner with a taste for beautiful men, it was rare to have a male burlesque. Though that was part of the appeal probably, all of the talent had to pass a few rounds of interviews from personality to dance and service. There were two 'voices' among the crew who could sing instead of lip sync to the songs. They were the top stars in the business, Kise and Himuro. There were plenty of talents hidden in the back, like one of the stagehands, Ryou, who knew all the dances and where to stand behind the set to hear if anything went wrong, or the audio wizard who was generally flawless. Even the band who played during the dance breaks were all gorgeous and unbelievable.

Takao was a new hire who was buried in the kick line, see when they auditioned they didn't get the chance to prove they could sing or not, so it didn't matter. Though Takao had proven himself to Alex by having amazing perception, that itself had gotten him off training and onto the stage must faster than the others he was hired with. He was able to see the stage from above, and actually most of the club as well so he could easily re-balance things if someone overstepped or point out something like a lighting wire that got pulled. Granted that made him a target for jealousy, but he was used to that by now with his personality people were drawn to him, but never stayed close. He'd been working the stage for a couple weeks now and knew that Alex punished people appropriately if they overstepped their bounds, after all she ran a club not a circus, that Ryou was the most reliable and yet timid when not working or if he had to relay a message, and the audio tech Imayoshi was reliable when working but sly and almost cruel when the night was done. Kise was absolutely a doll, everyone loved him, but he was pretty sure that the same loneliness that he himself faced was something Kise was no stranger to; and Himuro was mysterious and seductive both on and off the stage, he wanted people close to him but held them at arms length. There was also a rule of thumb at the club that the dancers could rotate if needed, but the singers could never sing back to back songs; for two reasons, the biggest being that it was a dance club not a singing club, and the second Alex didn't want to hurt the boys throats with the air being so full of the perfumes, glitters, smokes or whatnot.

That said colds do happen, and one night had to lip sync, they still had mic packs clipped to them in case something went wrong, but mostly because they had been put on before everyone found out that Kise wasn't live singing that night. It was Kise and four background dancers, Takao being in the lead spot for the backup, he had to give signals to the other three through the show to keep in rhythm with Kise. For whatever cursed reason that night while they were in the middle of 'S.L.U.T' the audio cut out. Takao cringed he saw what happened when he scanned. Biting his lip he saw Kise ready to start singing, he signed to the boys not to stop moving and swallowed his hesitation. Fanning out toward the back he did a drastic flip which caught the attention of the audience earning a cheer. A harsh whisper cut through the black screen separating the stage from where Ryou would be "Kill me later Ryou~ There's a wire in the back by table eighteen that got pulled. Tell Alex, and also apologize telling her I accept my punishment later. The show must go on without hurting Kicchan~" Backstage Ryou who was holding a metal clipboard dropped it and it bounced, he ran to Alex apologizing relaying the message.

Alex was about to drop the curtain when she heard a mic pack flip on, followed by another. Kise had forced himself and his voice wasn't that bad, just a bit huskier than normal. '_I— Love my ass I wanna shake it~ You can thank my momma cuz she made it. Don't you waste your breath tryin' ta change it_.' Finally Takao had gotten back to his spot after cuing Hayama and the band to pick up the sound by having the outside man on the otherside move forward with him to cover the movement. So Kise was center stage, Takao to his right barely behind him, Mayuzumi to the far left wanted to kill Takao for this he didn't mind being in the back but being dragged forward could be embarrassing though he kept smiling like he had to. The two in the back almost tripped when Takao sync'd with Kise, to spare his voice. Kise's eyes widened and he smiled nodding '_Just mind your own and we'll keep owning it_.' The subtle change was the acknowledgement that things were going well. Imayoshi was trying to find the wire that got pulled almost had a heart attack when the band started playing he peered over and saw Kise and Takao and waved to lighting telling them to put lights on them while he dealt with the mess of sound or lack of it.

Kise made a large move with his next right movement and dragged Takao forward. Takao tinged slight red, and was thankful for Mibuchi's rule of always wear a bit of blush coming in handy. This whole number was completely different from the norm. Mayuzumi retreated to the back and the trio spread out covering the back. Two main acts and the back up, it was easy for them to change, they couldn't help but wonder if Takao could handle being dragged up front. Takao almost whimpered, but he knew the choreography for both the background and the leads for every number that was performed so far at the club, he didn't want to be accused of being favorited so he studied until his feet bled in the beginning. Kise was obviously aware of that considering he didn't bat an eye when Takao easily managed to sync his movements. Kise was a known copycat and could easily mimic a style once he saw it, so he mimicked the little subtle extras that Takao didn't realize he'd added during his practice easily making the dance more fun. And since there were the two of them they got playful with it, they alternated the main pieces and Kise mostly took the chorus instead of the full thing to save his throat '_We've gotta learn to stick together– Love your color, gender or whatever_' The audience cheered and laughed when Takao had jokingly gestured to Kise's blonde hair and Kise retaliated by making a gesture at the brunette for gender. Ryou offstage looked like he might faint from worry, but Alex who would normally be seething by now actually was smiling into the hand covering her lips backstage. She looked like she had found another diamond in the rough.

'_Cause your happiness don't need a censor. Just mind your own, and we'll keep owning it_' The two of them together was actually risking bringing down the house, there were so many fans of Kise personally from his stint as a teen model that him being paired up with someone just as playful had them in awe. The two of them were perfectly in sync adding little flamboyant touches to the dance, facing each other and glancing at the audience like they got caught doing something risque. Like with their hands on each other's hips or leaning in a bit close, just not close enough for the mics to feedback. '_I'ma do just what I like on the regular, and it's really not my fault if you're scared of a Sweet. Little. Unforgettable Thing_.' The background trio seemed to remember they had mics because they clicked them on in time to fill the background '_Unforgettable_' Kise and Takao were practically flirting at this point, which was almost amusing to any of their coworkers considering they'd never said more than two words to each other the two weeks the hawk had worked their. A caress of the cheek on sweet by Takao, trailing a finger up the torso on little by Kise, leaning in like a fake kiss on unforgettable and then resuming the set of thing. '_Sweet. Little. Unforgettable. Thing_.' 'So incredible' Ryou and Imayoshi were almost certain the background dancers were dying given the changes to the dance, but nothing up front threw them off at least.

Imayoshi had fixed the wiring issue and was taping down the plug on the floor by the table to a waiter couldn't pull it out again, he was clearly annoyed with the new waiter who had tripped and not realized she pulled the plug. He'd give an earful to her later, thankfully Kise and that new dancer had managed something, after all Imayoshi could hear that Kise didn't feel well, and was letting the newbie do the heavy lifting, but clearly that wasn't the original plan. Takao grinned seductively in sync with Kise as they turned from each other to the audience '_Know that I'm not sorry. I'm just loving my body. I don't care if you're scared of a Sweet. Little. Unforgettable. Thing.'_ Kise's voice was giving out so Takao who noticed gave a wink to the fangirls watching closely and pressed a finger to Kise's lips as part of the next verse, both to spare him and bring the girls satisfaction knowing that their eye-candy was obedient or at least make it seem that way. '_Shame, shame, shame. Shame, shame, shame._' There were quite a few background shames as well for this section, which made it all the more stunning for the moment to hush the blonde at least to the fangirls who were starting to develop ideas about the two, and Himuro who was watching from the bar, who was trying his damnedest not to laugh. Takao had started directed the lyrics to both Kise and the audience to keep their illusions alive, since that's what this club is for, an amazing view and a trip down fantasy lane '_Shame on me baby, I ain't gonna change. Shame, shame, shame on me. Shame on me, baby'_ Finally the song was wrapping up and the backup crew was more involved _'I ain't gonna change. No, no, no. Sweet. Little. Unforgettable. Thing. Unforgettable. Sweet. Little. Unforgettable. Thing. So Incredible.'_ Kise really hates losing out when it comes down to popularity and put a hand on Takao's shoulder joining back in with the vocals for the end '_Know that I'm not sorry, I'm just lovin' my body. I don't care if you're scared of a Sweet. Little. Unforgettable. Thing.'_ '_Shame, shame, shame on me. Shame, shame shame_.' Finally the music was dying out and they were getting ready to drop the curtain when Kise seemed to stage kiss Takao, killing his mic pack just before feedback.

The curtain fell, Takao was stunned for more than one reason. That wasn't just a stage kiss, not that anyone who wasn't close could tell probably. The band, the crew and the backup ran over praising Takao and Kise for their quick thinking. The blonde refused to take credit though saying that Takao had coordinated it and actually saved him, Ryou ran over to Kise with a warm drink with honey in it to soothe his throat, Mayuzumi got Takao in a headlock as one of the backups switched off the mic pack for safety sake. And then everyone froze and turned to Alex, with Takao still in a headlock he smiled sheepishly "I'm sorry Alex… I didn't want Kic– Kise to end up hurting his throat or losing his voice from the cold… I didn't really know what else to do, and fixing the wiring wasn't going to be quick…" Kise was curious as to what he was going to be called and murmured to Ryou softly so no one else would hear the question "Kic?" Ryou smiled and nodded keeping the same quietness he answered "Oh Takao-kun has nicknames for people he's close to or respects. Yours is Kicchan apparently… I'm sorry" Kise smiled and patted the techie's head, that was interesting. So was he liked or respected, now he had to find out.

As if to reinforce the issue with sound Imayoshi was coming back half carrying one of the waitresses by the back of her uniform "He isn't wrong, this one managed to trip over the wire so hard it yanked out of both the soundboard and the wall. I didn't know what ta do I almost thought it was going to be damaged." Momoi was apologizing profusely, she had gotten distracted by the dancers. Takao patted Mayuzumi's arm calling uncle while Alex was looking over at her sound manager and the waitress. She ignored them for the moment turning back to Takao a slight frown as she looked him over and shook her head "You didn't mention you could sing" Takao rubbed the back of his neck, about to say something, but this time it was Himuro coming up from the bar that commented "I was their for his interview day Alex, you sent someone home for mentioning that they could sing… They had an awful voice, but you probably startled the whole batch of newbies that day." Alex glanced at her apprentice and then raised an eye at the rookie who chuckled and nodded "It's true… I couldn't sing for you on the spot that day even if I wanted to, my allergies were killing me and I didn't want to miss my chance working here…" He held his hand at the back of his neck to try to hide his shaking, he really hoped he wasn't losing his job over this.

Their make up artist who was taller than most of the dancers saw Takao's nails looked like they were going to dig into his neck and lightly swatted his hand tossing a towel over his neck without saying more, then giving the back up dancers their towels before wrapping Kise's neck with a warm compress.

Takao was still trembling a bit from the adrenaline of everything, after all he wasn't used to being the center of attention anywhere really and currently everything was on the floor. His mind was a mess and he was giddy, he just performed for the first time since high school, with a lead he super respected, who had kissed him, been praised and noticed by the other lead, saved the sound crew, and basically overturned the owners expectations. The hawk was truly soaring to cloud nine, but he was more or less being grounded as he tried to figure out what to do, what was going to happen. Everyone's cheery chattering died down for a bit as they watched Alex, wondering what she would say. She stared at Takao who didn't look away, he held her gaze even though he felt like his knees would give out, she smiled almost a smug smirk and asked "Well, honestly I'm floored. Kazunari do you have any plans Monday?" The hawk blinked and shook his head, Monday was normally a rest or rehersal day, they didn't open normally. Alex chuckled and turned to the band "Work with him Monday, I'll give you some of the songs, we're adding a third lead to the show." Glancing and Himuro and Kise she smiled and raised an eyebrow "Assuming you two don't have any arguments, I'll consider adding in duets or trios as well if you're up for the challenge?" Kise and Himuro had an air of competition as they nodded assent. Unable to hold back anymore Hayama, the band's drummer was so excited he hugged Takao, who was so startled he fell. Which earned concern and laughter as everyone resumed their praises.

Mibuchi was still standing by Kise when he noticed the glint in the blonde's eye, he chuckled "Honestly… I don't know to call you a masochist, or a sadist darling. You're going to make a move on him after today? You could end up breaking him." Kise smiled and after a few sips of his drink shook his head "I refuse to believe he'll break that easily…. What concerns me though… Is how his pheromones have influenced this place." The blonde sipped, and Mibuchi tilted his head then let his eyes roam, Himuro was watching Hayama rub his cheek against Takao's with a slight glint in his eye, Mayuzumi who was know for not getting involved was attempting to help Takao to his feet again despite Hayama, even Ryou who was normally withdrawn or Imayoshi who didn't play nicely with others had come to his defense. Mibuchi's eyebrows raised, just how many people did this rookie actually move? Even he himself wanted to pamper him, but that at least wasn't a rare thing he had an allure to beautiful people. Mibuchi wondered whom here would end up with who now, since there was no policy against dating as long as it didn't affect the show negatively.


End file.
